


Recovery (Rewritten)

by Burntcactii



Category: Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Teen Titans (Animated Series)
Genre: Jericho is batshit and Jason is a gangster, Johnny babysits two murder children and hates it, M/M, tag for Lots and Lots Of Trauma, tag for self hate and like. lots of mental issues, this starts v dark but gets v sweet
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:42:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25832248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burntcactii/pseuds/Burntcactii
Summary: Anyway I had this suicide squad AU in high school but I hate the writing on it. So I'm rewriting it.orRed Hood takes pity on the rogue Titan the Joker mentally fucked. He just wants to help. The rules of the bats be damned.
Relationships: Jason Todd/Joseph Wilson
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12
Collections: Take My Hand Through the Flame





	Recovery (Rewritten)

Jason trudged around the loft like a drunkard. He’d woken up half splayed in the _hallway_ for God’s sake. He’d carried Joseph to bed after he’d fallen asleep in the bathtub, then stood guard outside the bedroom. In all honestly he didn’t know what to do with himself. This was new- _he_ was new. All these feelings that Joseph drowned Jason in every time they met eyes were new and intimidating and _painful_ . Pity, sympathy, _guilt_. 

It was too early to try and make sense of this headache, so Jason focused on keeping one hand on the wall to guide him through the loft and toward the kitchen. 

“ _Gah_!” Jason yelled, startled.

Joseph, who’d fallen asleep in the _goddamn bathroom-_ was staring wide eyed at Jason from the couch, unreadable. Jason squinted at him, trying to decipher the look. It wasn’t curiosity like before, or even defensiveness…

It was alarm. Alertiveness. Joseph followed Jason with his eyes steadily, openly. Like an animal watching for it’s captor to rip it to shreds, but knowing there was no point in tensing either way. There was no escape. 

Jason testingly swayed back and forth, Joseph’s gaze unwavering. The kid barely even blinked. It was...unsettling, to say the least. Sitting cross legged on the couch, hands buried beneath his legs and head turned almost owl-like to just _stare_. 

Jason sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose before roughly running his hands through his hair as a makeshift morning hygiene routine, waking himself up some so he could stare sternly back at Joseph. His gaze was less alarmed now, pointedly squinting at Jason’s hair, which he’d only served to rough up worse. 

Jason moved toward where Joseph was sitting, sighing again and pulling a small white box from under the duster he wasn’t able to remove last night before passing out completely. “Here, why don’t you-”

The boy immediately stiffened, moving in a way that reminded Jason of a thrashing snake or a cornered rat as he retreated from Jason like he was a monster. Jason froze, and only when Jason stopped moving forward did Joseph stop moving back. He was stock still, having climbed up to crouch on the top cushions of the couch, hands bracing white-knuckled behind him in an animalistic way. 

_Now_ Joseph stared at him defensively. His pupils were shot, not daring to blink, to move away from Jason’s. It reminded Jason less of human vision and more of someone watching through the eyes of a doll. Painted on eyes that could shut everything out when it got to be too much. The only thing that reminded Jason he was _alive_ and breathing was that Joseph’s chest was rapidly moving in and out as he near hyperventilated and shakily gasped for air through his teeth. 

_God_ , what did the kid think Jason was gonna do to him?  
  


Jason moved slow, steady. Never breaking eye contact with Joseph as he raised one hand in a surrender symbol, slowly bringing the other completely out of his jacket, white box in tow. Jason steadily lowered into a crouch, trying to make himself seem as small as possible.

Joseph started uneasily flicking his gaze between Jason’s eyes and the box in his gloved hand, breathing faster, panicking. His muscles were tensing, like he was going to spring from the couch any moment now and take off running through the door or through the twenty-something story window, whichever was quickest. 

“Cards.” Jason said, steady, breaking Joseph’s flicking gaze from the window. “Do you like cards? That’s all it is- look.” Jason said softly, slow as ever as he calmly slid open the small box and pulled out a five-of-hearts, turning the box in all directions so Joseph could clearly see there was no ill intent or secret trick hidden here. 

What he saw is what was real. That’s what Joseph needed to understand now. 

The boy slowed his breathing, squinting mistrustfully at the box in Jason’s hand and leaning forward some, trying to get a better look without leaving his new favorite vantage point. 

Jason flipped his hand, and suddenly the five-of-hearts disappeared from view, into the sleeve of his jacket, making Joseph gasp loudly and tense again, clamoring forward on the couch to yank on Jason’s hand and turn it this way and that, like he was trying to understand where the card had gone. Jason couldn’t help but chuckle, seeming to make Joseph realize he’d broken their gaze. Sharp as a snake Joseph struck a hand out against Jason’s throat like he were going to jab his airway, the other still yanking tightly on the opposite arm. Jason could get out of the hold easy, but this was the closest Joseph had gotten to him since their breakthrough last night.

“Easy…” Jason said softly, holding up the white box for Joseph to see again. 

Joseph’s gaze flicked between scowling venomously at Jason and squinting confused at the box of cards, seeming to have an internal struggle. In the end, his curiosity won out. Joseph glared at Jason as if he were silently telling him not to move, before striking out and snatching the box from Jason’s gloved hand, using Jason’s shoulder to flip over him completely and dump all of the cards out onto the hardwood floor of the kitchen, all in a matter of seconds. Immediately the boy started angrily shaking the box above him while squinting into it, throwing it with enough force for it to slap against the wall and shoveling through the cards angrily, seeming determined to find the five-of-hearts. 

“Okay, so, you-” Joseph’s attention snapped back to Jason immediately, glaring from his crouched spot on the floor, his eyes a dangerous hue. “ _You_ , stay right there, since that’s where you...want to be. Obviously.” Jason said carefully, trying to choose his words with weight. “ _I_ ...will be...right back.” He said, taking a step further and further back with every word. Their eyes never lost heavy contact until Jason was at the end of the hallway and Joseph was steadily glaring. Finally, _finally_ , Joseph tensed like he were going to pounce, before simply huffing like Jason was distracting him from his true task, his eyes going back to a jaded grey-green and ripping through the red-decorated cards. 

Jason sighed, turning down the hall and stretching his now-sore left arm. He could feel the weight of the bags under his eyes. Just being in the same living space as this kid was gonna kill him. Hell, the kid was ready as all hell to kill him right then and there, over a deck of cards and a laugh. 

This was gonna be hard.

Jason set to work methodically going from room to room, trying to put himself in the mindset of Joseph to find and hide any weapons out of reach. This kid was weak, scared, vulnerable, but more than anything he was _dangerous_ , mental state be damned.

About half an hour later Jason came trudging back to the kitchen, jerking still and his breath freezing as Joseph was nowhere to be found. 

Fuck.

_Fuck, fuck,_ **_fuck_ ** _,_ the amount of things the little maniac could get into unsupervised- the amount of ways he could hurt himself-

Jason froze as he heard the small telltale sound of cards rubbing against each other. 

Jason slowly, steadily made his way around the kitchen island to peek over the side, finding Joseph curled so small Jason would've missed him completely if he hadn't heard the noise. He seemed... _relaxed_ , if frustrated, as he crouched over the spilled cards that led in a trail back to where he's tossed the box originally. He didn't seem to even notice Jason had returned.

_That_ sent a pang of guilt through him. Joseph Wilson was _Jester_ , he was a killing machine and the single most defensive being in this city. He was trained. He should've known Jason was back from the moment he stepped through the hallways, he wasn't trying to be particularly quiet. 

The boy was _exhausted._ He'd barely slept since he'd been taken here besides in the bathtub. He was too tired to even gauge his surroundings, sense any danger. 

Jason slowly made his way around the island, finding it unfair that Joseph wasn't aware he was here. He wasn't relaxed because Jason was here, he was relaxed because his body was giving out on him completely. 

Jason slowed to a stop with his eyes wide as he saw what had captivated the boy's attention so much. Joseph still didn't seem to realize Jason was right in front of him, instead curled over the cards, tears falling at a steady rate down at the massacre he'd made. 

Joseph had one card in hand, angrily using the edge of it to scratch and scratch and _scratch_ away at the card sitting isolated in front of him.

It was the joker of the set.

Joseph has mauled the thing already. It was already scratched to hell to the point Jason could only tell by the lettered J on the corner, and the single eye and half grin that had made it out of destruction’s way. Eventually Joseph was scratching on the card so much it tore in half, and Joseph made an upset, angry sound- like a half sob, half yell - before tossing it behind him into a pile of other ripped cards, reaching for the next and going at the joker with even more brash might, leaning his full weight into tearing the joker card to shreds. 

Jason slowly crouched down, Joseph so wrapped up in that damned joker card that he didn't even notice. 

_What_ was Jason thinking? Handing him a deck of cards? He was pouring salt into the wound. 

"Joseph-" Jason began, freezing as Joseph jerked up to glare at him, not moving from his assault on the card deck. His eyes were red and swollen from quietly crying, and his lip was _gushing_ with blood from Joseph biting down on it like a vice, probably to stop himself from the laughter that would accompany his sobs. He looked at Jason with _hate_. 

"Easy...easy, Joseph-" the boy _snarled_ at him. "Okay- okay, I need you to talk to me. Can you do that? I need to know what's wrong-" He was hyperventilating again, his eyes dilating. 

Something bad was about to happen.

"I'M WRONG!" Joseph all but _screamed_ , lunging at Jason with hands outstretched. He went for Jason's throat as they tumbled to the ground, nails clawing into the skin of his neck and _squeezing,_ putting all of weight into Jason's airway as he made more of those gut wrenching half sob, half broken maniacal cackling sounds. He was smiling wide, but it was all teeth, lips stretched in a distorted way. Joseph seemed to get angrier as he realized he was smiling, letting another flood of tears fall on Jason's face as he bit down on his own lip near enough to split it. 

There _was_ hate in his eyes. But not for Jason. Not even for Joker. For himself. 

Jason let this go on for long enough, easily shoving Joseph over him and on his back. Joseph was more than formiddable on the daily. But now? With no weapons, no strength, no will? Jason's own health was the least of his worries. Maybe a little tug of war is what the kid needed to let it all out, it certainly helped Jason through most of his trauma. 

Jason quickly moved to grab Joseph up from the floor only for the boy to start viciously clawing at his face, his arm, anything he could reach, and screaming with laughter all the while.

There were still fat tears running down his face. He didn't want this. He didn't want to laugh anymore. Jason felt another pang go through his heart. 

Quickly, Jason grabbed both of Joseph's wrists in one hand, using the other to roughly yank the boy up and into Jason's chest. 

" _FUCK YOU! FUCKING GET- GET AWAY-"_ and those were only the words Jason could make out. Dispersed with hysterical screaming and kicking and headbutting. 

Joseph wasn't used to losing the fight. 

Jason held him steady. Not roughly, or unevenly, just steady, as he kicked and screamed and cursed. Eventually, Joseph's body gave out from the fight and he seemed to just fall limply forward, curses now interspersed with heart wrenching sobs and whimpers of " _I'm_ wrong- I'm all _fucking wrong-"._

Eventually even the cursing died down to hiccups and whimpers and gasps.

How long had they been here now? What was Jason even supposed to do? He coped through violence, through action. What do you _do_ with someone sobbing so much you start fearing they'd dehydrated?

Jason tried to think critically. Joseph needed stability, that's why he was here.

Jason slowly, steadily, brought the sobbing boy up to his chest, pressing him to his heart. Joseph pathetically gripped and ungripped his hands where Jason held them still, burying his face into Jason's shirt.

Joey was slowly going completely limp, until the only sign he was sentient was the shaking breaths and sobs. Jason slowly, carefully, let go of Joseph's wrists, which flopped disgracefully to his sides.

What was Jason supposed to do? When was the last time he'd even cried?

It was when his mother had reached out to him. Dick was there- what did Dick do?

Jason sighed and brought Joey's legs to lay over Jason's lap, scooting them both back so Jason could lean against the kitchen island before completely enveloping Joey in his arms, squeezing him tight. Holding him.

It felt stupid. What was this going to do? Definitely not kill the joker. Or undo the years of torment.

Joseph weakly brought one of his hands up like he were going to claw Jason's face off- only to desperately cling to his shirt instead, curling into Jason's awkward but tight embrace. 

It made him feel safe. 

Jason hummed, his heart aching as he brought Joseph all the more closer and buried a sigh into the boy's soft hair. Joseph had never let him this close before, and Jason had no way of telling how long it would last. 

"It's okay," he murmured. "You're okay. He's _gone_ , Joseph." 

Joseph weakly moved to look at Jason. Despite the weakness in his body and the hollowness of his face. His eyes were filled with _venom_. 

"But _you're here_." He spat angrily, voice broken. 

Jason hummed again, trying to decipher what he meant. 

"He left me all- he fucked me up." Joey warbled, scowling at himself. "Now you're gonna tell me I'm not- you're- you're gonna hold me all high just to _fucking drop me_ -" he hissed through a rough voice. " _You're just fucking like him!"_ Joseph suddenly screeched. The kid had some fight in him. His body had completely given out but he was steadily yelling and sobbing and punching weakly at Jason's chest.

It broke his heart to watch.

Jason sighed and easily caught Joseph's fists, letting him struggle to get out of Jason's hold for a bit before he fell limp again, head hanging from his shoulder and steadily sobbing in between soft " _I hate you, I hate you, I h-hate you"s._

"I'm keeping you with me, Joseph-"

"No you _fucking_ aren't-" he warbled helplessly. 

" _I'm keeping you with me Joseph."_ Jason repeated sterner than before, seeming to snap Joseph's attention back to him. "And it doesn't matter that you're fucked up, cause you know what? _I am too._ " 

Joseph looked up at Jason like before, in the lockoff. Like Jason held the word of God. 

"Everything is fucked up right now, Joey. And we're the worst of the worst. But I _swear-"_ Jason took Joseph by the shoulders, hard. " _Not a damn thing is going to happen to you while you're with me."_

"But... _why?_ " Joseph asked, small, his eyes were with tears again. " _Why?"_

Joseph looked deep into Jason's eyes for answers, and Jason gaped as he tried to think of a real one. Instead Joseph sighed and dropped all of his weight into Jason's chest. He was _tired_ . Too tired to fight. Too tired to hate. He just needed something good, anything _good-_

_"_ I liked that name." He murmured into Jason's neck, barely even a whisper. Jason hummed in confusion, uneasily putting a hand on Joseph's back in a calming gesture. He could strike out at any moment, Jason couldn't let his guard down. "The one you gave me. _Joey_." 

He smiled as he said it. Not twisted and wide and malicious. His eyes were closed from exhaustion, he probably didn't even know Jason was watching him. He smiled soft and broken and happy all at the same time, slowly fluttering his eyes open and dropping the smile for a confused, mistrustful pout when he saw Jason watching. 

There went Jason's guard. 

"Then that's what I'll call you, if you want." There was probably something to be said about why Joseph liked the nickname. About how he was running away from who he used to be- Joseph.

Joey smiled soft again before finally letting his eyes fall shut, eyebrows scrunching in a final conflict before burying his face in Jason's neck and falling asleep completely. Jason's heart caught in his throat as he realized he would've told Joey _anything_ he'd wanted to hear if it meant he'd see that smile again. Someone who could be so soft, so _helpless_ and vulnerable- didn't deserve to have seen the things Joey had. 

Jason sighed, absentmindedly reaching up to play with Joseph's curls again while he was too exhausted to stop him. He was resigned to his fate on the floor, Joseph half straddling, half clinging to him and finally deep asleep. 

"Jason?" Joey asked, quiet, still buried away. 

"Hm?" Jason suddenly froze and felt awkward for the position they were in. 

"I'll keep you, too, if you want." He said, half asleep. 

The sentiment was too sweet for someone who lunged for his throat recently. Jason awkwardly coughed, shifting to get more comfortable and looking _anywhere_ but at Joey- _Joseph_. Joseph was his name. Preferences be damned, he needed to accept he was Joseph. Jason needed to hammer in that he was Joseph.

"Sure, Joey." Jason murmured, closing his eyes as well. Joseph smiled that soft, barely there smile again into his neck. 

  
  
  



End file.
